Winged Beasts
by TheAssassinGame
Summary: Taken from her village, Genovefa, a young Celtic girl, finds her calling in the arms of the Assassin Brotherhood in Rome. Meanwhile, Ginny follows her memories as she works in Abstego Industries, to find much more than she bargained for...
1. A Quiet Night

The sun hung low in the sky as the two children ran around the outskirts of the village. They weren't disturbing anyone and it brought a smile to the faces of those that saw them.

"Drustan!" The young girl cried as she chased her older brother around the Celtic settlement. "Slow down!"

"You'll never catch me!" He called back, laughing as he ran.

"Drustan!"

The two children continued to run, racing through the forest as darkness began to fall. Drustan thundered on, risking a look over his shoulder. As he realised his sister was no longer behind him, he slowed and stopped.

"Genovefa?" He called, stepping back the way he came.

All was silent but the soft cry of a bird in the distance. As if it too called for her.

"Genovefa! It's not funny anymore, come out!"

He began to grow afraid. The darkness had found them quickly and it was rumoured that all manner of creatures lived in it. And despite his claims otherwise, he believed it.

"Come on, we should get back now." His voice shook as he imagined large fanged creatures looming behind him.

He heard movement behind a tree and his stomach flipped. There was something there. Watching him.

"Genovefa?" His timid voice called out to her but again, no reply.

He took cautious steps towards the tree, every leaf that crunched beneath his feet filled him with fear as he grew ever nearer to the creature.

The shadow leapt and tackled Drustan to the ground as he screamed.

Lying on the floor, Genovefa burst out laughing as he brother lay beside her, suffering from a minor heart attack.

"That's not funny!" He shouted and hit her arm.

"Ow! You're no fun!" She said, hitting him back.

"We have to go back." Drustan told her, standing, shaking off the leaves and dirt from his clothes.

"You should have seen your face!" She laughed, getting to her feet.

In the distance, Drustan heard twigs snap.

"What was that?" He asked.

"I didn't hear anything. Probably the ghouls that haunt this forest!" Genovefa giggled.

"If this is another one of your tricks, I swear-"

More twigs snapped, joined by voices and torch lights.

"Something's there." She said, her laugh fading away.

"Genovefa, don't!" Her brother warned, but the young Celtic girl followed the sound and the light.

Keeping to the shadows, they crept towards the source, hiding in the shrubbery as they found it. With deafening heart beats and breathing that threatened to give them away, the two watched the army, dressed in armour than shone in the light of the torches, helmets obscuring their faces. A few tents were set up as a temporary base and soldiers sat around a fire, talking quietly and eating.

"How much further?" Asked one.

"Just up ahead." A soldier replied.

"Good. I just want to get this over and done with and go home. It's cold here. Not like home."

"Mhm." He mumbled in agreement as he chewed on a chunk of tough bread.

"I hope there aren't too many children." He continued, sighing. "I don't like killing children."

"They aren't like us, Flavius." The soldier swallowed and turned to him. "They're savages, uncivilised, even their children would cut our throats at a moments notice."

"Fine."

Genovefa squeaked and clapped a hand over her mouth as realisation dawned on her. This army, these strange people, they were going to attack her village.

"What was that?" Flavius looked up, squinting into the darkness where the two hid.

"Probably just an animal." The other soldier waved him off, but Flavius wasn't so sure.

"Genovefa, hush..." Drustan held her as she shook in fear.

Flavius stepped closer to the bushes and drew his sword.

Genovefa ran.

"No!" Her brother cried as she burst from the bushes, screaming as bolted for her home.

The two soldiers jumped into action and Flavius snatched the Celtic boy as the other soldier sprinted into the forest. His long, strong legs easily caught up with the young girl and grabbed her by the back of her dress as she shrieked and squirmed in his grip.

"Shut it!" He snapped, shaking her as he put the sword to her neck.

She did as she was told, eyes wide, heart thundering in her chest. He dragged her back to camp where she saw her brother in the same state, sword to his back as he knelt by the fire, his arms tied behind his back.

"What do we do with them?" Flavius asked as the soldier and Genovefa approached them.

"They can be our captives for the time being. There'll be enough bloodshed first light tomorrow."

Flavius nodded and struck Drustan with the hilt of his sword. His sister screamed as he flopped on his side, unmoving. As the other soldier did the same, the night returned to its quiet state. All the noise that remained was the crackling fire and the low whistling of the soldiers as they shoved the unconscious children to the side.


	2. Taking A Break

Her eyes snapped open.

"Right, let's get you out. You look like you could use a rest."

Ginny sat up, her heart thundering just like Genovefa's had in that memory. Holding her head, she stood and the animus built into her booth powered down.

"That was some really good stuff." Lydia Masters, one of Abstergo Entertainment's managers said, offering a hand as Ginny left her station to take a seat on the nearby sofas.

"Cheers. It was pretty nerve racking though. I thought they were going to die." She said, trying to hide her hands that still shook.

"If they did, that would make a very short and uninteresting film." Lydia smiled. "It's looking to be a very promising subject, no one's been able to go back this far and if I'm honest, I didn't think we'd be able to get these memories from subject seventeen, I thought it'd be too... Decomposed."

"Well, it's been working fine so far."

"Indeed. Take a break, I'll get you a coffee and then hop right back- Oh, hello? Hi, yeah..." Lydia was cut off by a call coming in through her headset but waved to Ginny, mouthing that'd she'd be right back as she left.

Slumping in her seat, Ginny let out a deflating sigh. She'd only just started working on the Subject 17 project last week and today was her first day of collecting memories. She'd been sceptical to start after the incident with one of the staff being attacked and Olivier, the boss, going missing during the making of a film based in the 18th century of pirates in the West Indies. But, it paid well, it looked fun, and hell, her history degree made her more than qualified to do it.

It was strange, she thought, that Subject 17's ancestors, Genovefa, looked so much like her. As far as she knew, she was never related to this Desmond Miles, but then again, she'd hardly gone into an in-depth search of her family tree.

Lydia returned with a steaming coffee in a paper cup and passed it to Ginny. She thanked her and the woman smiled and left again. Taking careful sips, Ginny looked around, watching the other staff either chatting around a snack station or basically unconscious, hooked up to the animus in their booth. Did they know they were working for Templars? Were they Templars themselves?

Almost absent mindedly, Ginny felt her necklace under her shirt, a metal pendant in the shape of the Assassin's symbol. A small grin played on her face before she looked down into her coffee. It's going to be fun, she thought, playing the spy.


	3. Bought And Paid For

Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays everyone! Hope you're all having a great day (although you should be off enjoying yourself instead of reading my stupid stories!) Just to say thank you to everyone who's read and left a lovely review to my stories, you guys are the best! Everyone expectant of a rogue story, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer but I'm already planning it (with the help of one or two of you!) and so I should be getting that out asap, thanks for holding up!

* * *

><p>She saw the glow of the fire. She could smell the burning. She heard the screaming. Clutching her knees, Genovefa whimpered in the cage. Her brother lay unconscious beside her, a result of the large bruised lump on the back of his head.<p>

She imagined her parents, her friends, her neighbours, running and screaming as soldiers burned down their home, cutting at fallen bodies with their swords. There would be no survivors. None but them.

As the sun watched over them, high in the sky, the soldiers returned. Some were wounded. Her people knew how to fight back. Blood soaked their swords. Obviously not well enough.

"Let's get these two loaded onto the cart." A soldier said and two more gripped the bars, grunting as they lifted the cage onto the cart.

As the wheels rumbled on, soldiers fell into line, collecting the tents and cleaning their armour.

"Let's move out!"

The young girl shook her brother and the boy groaned, holding his wound and he groggily sat up.

"Drustan!" She cried and as he realised what was happening, his eyes went wide and he pulled his sister into his arms.

"Hush, Genovefa. We'll be alright." He said, his voice shaky and his lips quivering. He didn't have to see the black smoke in the distance to know nearly everyone he loved was dead.

She sobbed and gripped her brother, crying into his chest as the cart rolled along the road, flanked by soldiers. They left the forest and followed the winding road through the hills. Soon, they'd be far away from here. To them, it'd be like another world. And Rome was certainly that.

Weeks passed and the brother and sister rarely left the cage. They were fed and watered between the bars and the fleeting moments of freedom were when they were dragged out and practically thrown in the bushes with an order to 'relieve themselves'. It soon became clear to them that they were to be taken to Rome to be slaves. Most likely, separated. So, in that cage, the brother and sister clung to one another, their last surviving family member, knowing it wouldn't be long before they could never hold one another again.

The bustle of Rome greeted them like a swarm of locusts. It was loud, unsettling and every face gave a look of curiosity at the poor children. By now, many of the soldiers had left, off to tell their stories on how they conquered the barbarian settlements across Britain. The cart rumbled over the cobblestones, horses snorting as they attempted to manoeuvre their way through the streets as civilians edged their way around them in, trying to shop and avoid being trampled. They soon reached a city square where the driver climbed out and with the help of three soldiers that still followed them, brought the cage down to the floor. As a crowd began to gather, Genovefa and Drustan were brought up to a podium. They shook and whimpered in fear at all the alien faces that stared at them. Drustan grabbed his sister's hand and held it tight.

"We'll be alright. We'll be alright-"

"The bidding for the boy starts at two hundred denarii." A man called out, gripping Drustan by his collar and tearing him away from his sister.

"Two fifty!"

"Three hundred!"

"Three hundred and seventy!"

The voices called out until a large man, covered in scars and muscles, roared out the winning bid at 'five hundred and twenty denarii'. Neither Genovefa or Drustan knew what this man wanted him for, but he was about to find out. In bonds, Drustan was shoved down from the podium to the man where he grabbed his wrists and hauled him away.

"Drustan!" Genovefa screamed. "Drustan!"

The crowd exchanged glances as the boy and the girl called for one another. They weren't exactly moved by the emotional separation of brother and sister. They were just noting the strange names that they had never heard before.

Genovefa was pushed forward and the bidding for her began. The sobbing girl went for 'four hundred and ninety denarii' and sold to a hooded man at the back of the crowd. The white apparel did not make any attempt to mask the sinister man, he could have been dressed like the devil and he would have been just as threatening to Genovefa. She couldn't see his face but she couldn't see much through her tears.

"This way." He said and his voice was smooth. It nearly calmed her as he led her through the streets.

"I want my brother." She cried.

"You won't be able to get him back I'm afraid. Gladiators are very valuable. Unless you have the money to pay for him back, I very much doubt you'd be seeing him again soon."

"But, sir-"

"Listen to me, girl." The man stopped and stared down at her. Now, she could see his face. He had curly brown hair that matched his soft hazel eyes but despite this, his features were sharp.

She swallowed.

"You may never see your brother again. You have to accept that. But you're to work for me now. For the Brotherhood." He said these last words in a hushed voice.

"The Brotherhood?"

He looked around before kneeling to her height.

"What's your name?"

"Genovefa, sir."

"Then, Genovefa, you're about to work for the Assassins."


	4. Undercover

Ginny stepped through the work floor, walking in between the booths. She kept her head down and her tablet under her arm as she entered the lift. With the tap of a button, the lift whistled down to the ground floor and the doors opened, revealing a picturesque view. She avoided eye contact when she passed by the other workers but no one cared. It was pretty standard for quiet, socially awkward Ginny.

"Shaun, for the last time, stop putting salt in my coffee! It wasn't funny the first time, and it wasn't funny the fifty times after that!"

Ginny smiled as she walked over the decorative bridge where Rebecca's voice greeted her.

"Aw, c'mon Becky, it made you giggle the first dozen times."

"No, it didn't! It was disgusting!"

"It's an acquired taste- Ah, well if it isn't Miss Ginny Griffin!" Shaun turned, smiling.

"Hi." She gave a slight wave to the British man behind the coffee counter and the courier girl with short, dark hair.

"Hey, Ginny. Got what we need?" Rebecca asked and held out her own tablet as Ginny held out hers.

"Yep. I'll send it over now." She said and her fingers danced over the screen, sending across the sensitive information on what she had hacked from the Templar computers.

As the notification on its arrival popped up on Rebecca's screen, she gave a grin and nodded.

"Thanks, that's great." Rebecca slipped her tablet into her bag. "I'll see you around. Shaun will notify you if there's anything else."

"Cool. Later." Ginny waved as Rebecca left.

"Becks, I'm sorry!" Shaun called after her and the courier turned her head with a sly grin, just to let him know she was teasing. "Ah, she loves me really." He said to Ginny and she laughed.

"Oh, I bet." Ginny turned on her heel to head back to work. "See ya later, Shaun."

"See y'around."

Ginny made her way back to her animus, still playing with the necklace under her shirt. Her earpiece crackled and Shaun's voice echoed in her head. She resisted the urge to look over her shoulder as he said those famous words.

"Happy hacking!"

Genovefa woke on a small, uncomfortable bed with a tattered sheet over her. It was better than nothing so she didn't complain. She could only dread to think where her brother was waking up.

If he woke up.

Shaking hideous thoughts from her head, she sat up, stretched and began the day. The Assassins employed her as a maid and she cleaned and dusted and did all that she could for these people. They were nice enough; they didn't strike her or scream at her so she was grateful for that, but many ignored her and kind words were rare. For the past few months, life had passed at a considerably dull rate. The man, the Assassin that bought her at the slave market treated her very kindly. He smiled at her as he passed and when his hood was back, she could see his face, sharp features but soft eyes. He wasn't as old as she first imagined, whereas she expected him to be middle aged, he only looked to be in his early twenties. He was handsome and was strongly built and Genovefa admired him for it, promising herself she would one day be as strong and attractive as he was.

She never stopped searching for her brother. Whenever she was told to fetch water or one thing or another, she sharpened her senses and listened. She tried to pick up any information from the civilians, something about a gladiator of some sorts. But nothing. Often, fear took hold as she imagined the worst case scenarios, that Drustan had been killed by an animal or another gladiator, all the horror stories that she'd overheard from people, who watched this for entertainment.

"Girl!"

Genovefa snapped back to reality, her eyes wide behind her scraggly dark hair. She clutched the broom that she always carried and looked up at the white cloaked figure.

"Don't just stand around looking dumb!" She snapped, hands on hips and her face twisted in distaste for the foreigner. "Clean my quarters, you savage!"

Genovefa bowed her head and nodded, hurrying away.

"Ambrose paid too much for that welp." The Assassin sneered as she left and Genovefa noted the name.

Ambrose. That tall Assassin that bought her. The one that smiled. It was a nice name. Almost comforting. Familiar. She could remember someone telling her the meaning to the name. What was it? Ah, yes.

It meant 'immortal'.


	5. A Birthday Wish

Genovefa sighed and opened her eyes. Normally, on this morning, she would wake as soon as the sun had made the slightest notion to rise, then run to her parents, laughing and shouting that she was another year older. Today, she was twelve but she couldn't celebrate her birthday like she always did. She wished she was back home, her brother and her parents giving her a small present; a doll, a good luck charm, a wooden sword. But this year, she got nothing.

She curled up and let herself weep into her knees. Her brother was gone, her parents are dead, everything she knew was taken away, ripped away, and she was left as a peasant girl in a distant land where it was too hot and the people were too cruel. All she wanted was to go home.

Wiping her eyes, she stood, gathered her broom and went to work. The halls were quiet, they usually were this early in the morning, and so she simply opened the door to the Master Assassin's office and began sweeping. Genovefa started to hum an ancient song, something that her mother had sung to her when she was younger. Hot tears fell down her cheeks and her voice shook.

"Genovefa?"

She spun, gasping at the voice that appeared behind her, dropping the broom to the floor with a clatter.

"Are you alright?" Ambrose asked, concern etched on its face.

"Yes, sir, I'm fine, thank you." She said, keeping her eyes down.

"Nonsense." He said, picking up the broom beside her. "I can always tell when you're upset-"

"Sorry?"

"I mean, when someone's upset, I can always tell, ah..." He trailed off and passed the broom back.

"Thank you, sir." She whispered and took the broom from him. "Is there anything else you'd like? Some wine, maybe?"

"Tea, please."

She nodded and put the broom to the side. Genovefa was often given jobs to fetch food and drinks for the Assassins instead of just cleaning for them. So, she hurried off to the kitchen and collected boiling water, a cup and various ingredients to make any kind of tea. When she returned, Ambrose sat at his desk, hood back, his soft eyes scanning various documents around him. His sharp features looked tired.

"How do you like it?" She asked, setting down the tray beside him.

"Simple. Just two mint leaves, please." He said, his voice quiet and tired. It sounded as if he'd only just returned, that he had been out all night on a mission.

Genovefa nodded and placed two mint leaves into the delicate cup before pouring the hot water over it. She placed the steaming cup beside him and he smiled.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, sir." She gave a slight bow before taking away the tray and tucking her broom under her arm.

"Oh, and Genovefa?"

"Yes, sir?" She stopped at the door.

Ambrose gave a gentle smile.

"Happy birthday."


End file.
